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He must have seen it in my face, because Jeremy narrowed his eyes at me, spitting out his words like venom. “You’ve doomed everyone, cousin. Your family, your coven…” His frown morphed into a wicked grin and my blood ran cold. “And that human pet you’ve been hiding from me.”
I could not afford to break down in front of him. I couldn’t show a shred of feeling at his words. If he knew about Sky, knew what she meant to me, he would be coming for her first.
I tried to organize my features into a sadistic expression that mirrored his own. “You mean my blood bag? The poor woman is terrified to sign a contract, but her blood is too sweet to ignore.”
It must have been convincing because Jeremy’s face broke out into a genuine smile. “You and I have always been similar in that way. It’s a shame all of Alberich’s preaching about rules and responsibilities went to your head.”
I pretended to act disinterested, shrugging his words off as he continued, “I’m building a coven of my own, you see. You could have ruled alongside me.”
“I already have a coven.”
“A dismal collection of highborn airheads who will soon be under my thumb.” Jeremy continued to monologue, pacing up and down the room as he stretched his arms out toward the window.
“I plan to bring about a new era of the supernatural. And your city is where it all starts. Vampires will no longer have to live in hiding, and we will rule over the humans as we were always meant to.”
“That’s a foolish plan.” I growled at the smug vampire. “The humans would sooner obliterate this city than let vampires run rampant in the streets. You’d doom us all.”
Jeremy ignored my warning, cocking his head to the side as he examined me. “You look different, Jords. Your aura is lighter than it’s ever been.” A smile played on his lips. “Could it be that you have found your mate?”
Before I could respond, Jeremy continued, tapping a gold-ringed finger to his cracked lips. “It would be a shame if something were to happen to them–”
I didn’t let him finish, all my fury unleashed at his blatant threat. I lurched forward, claws ready to slash the cruel vampire to bloody ribbons.
But my fingers swiped empty air.
With a guttural cry of rage I whirled around, turning in circles in search of my target. But Jeremy was gone, and I was once again alone in my office—the door still locked as if he had not been there at all.
Chapter 8
SKY
“RemindmeagainwhyI need a babysitter?” I grumbled when Jordan swung open the car door and hauled me from the backseat.
She ignored my petulant frown, walking me away from the car toward the High Stakes headquarters. Her head swiveled around like she expected her cousin to appear at any moment. It seemed ludicrous to me that she deemed this place to be the safest option for me considering Jeremy’s presence in this very spot the day before, but Jordan was too high-strung to bother with explanations of any sort.
The vampiress had already filled me in on her cousin’s appearance in her office, albeit not willingly.
She had arrived home from work in a panic, nearly kicking the door right off its hinges and hollering for me at the top of her lungs. When I stumbled out of the bathroom with my jeans around my knees, the vampiress had wasted no time in sprinting over and examining me from head to toe. She ignored my questions, grilling me on whether I’d noticed a “strange presence” around the apartment that day.
It had taken hours of pestering on my part for her to finally crack and tell me what happened.
Now Jordan had decided that her coworkers would have to keep an eye on me while she went about hunting down this Jeremy guy and preparing for the upcoming Black Moon festival.
Hanging out with Jordan and River while rooting-out monsters sounded infinitely more entertaining than sitting around an office all day, but my red-headed roommate was very insistent. And so, I let myself be dragged along as Jordan marched me up to the front desk and waved down the receptionist.
“Sky, meet Max—your new babysitter.” Jordan gestured to the mousy-haired woman behind the front desk. “I have to go, but Hunter should be here shortly. You can hide in her office when Maxine gets on your nerves.”
Max, a petite woman with dimpled cheeks and wide gray eyes, grabbed my hand over the counter, shaking it with enough enthusiasm to nearly tear my arm off. “It’s wonderful to meet you! I sincerely hope Jordan has been treating you better than her last human.”
“There were other humans?” I side-eyed Jordan, who ran a hand over her face with a sigh.
“That’s a topic for another day. Maxine, please refrain from embarrassing me while I’m gone.”
The smaller woman giggled, releasing my hand and rounding the desk to put her arm around my shoulders. Even in heels, she had to stand on her toes to manage it. “No promises. Sky deserves to know what she’s getting into, dating the likes of you.”
Jordan looked like she wanted to argue further, but the beeping of her watch had her settling for a pointed stare and a prodding finger instead. “If you mention the February work function, I’ll kill you. And if there is any trouble with Sky under your watch, I’ll kill you twice.”
With a final wave to me, Jordan took off, her hair a streak of red in the car window as she drove away.
